The Mueller Russia Investigation: A Full Docket Of Developments Set For FridayNews — big and small — on four different fronts of the Russia investigation is expected Friday. Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and James Comey all have a role. Here's what to watch for.

The Mueller Russia Investigation: A Full Docket Of Developments Set For Friday

Friday is the deadline for the special counsel to submit to federal court in Washington, D.C., a document spelling out how former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort allegedly violated his plea agreement.
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Friday is the deadline for the special counsel to submit to federal court in Washington, D.C., a document spelling out how former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort allegedly violated his plea agreement.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Friday is shaping up as a busy day in the Justice Department's Russia investigation.

Special counsel Robert Mueller faces deadlines in two federal courts in cases involving two former Trump insiders, a former FBI director treks up to Capitol Hill for a closed-door interview, and a onetime Trump campaign adviser gets out of prison.

Here's a quick breakdown of what's on tap for the day:

Mueller's office to detail Paul Manafort's alleged lies

Friday is the deadline for Mueller's team to submit to federal court in Washington, D.C., a document spelling out how President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort allegedly violated his plea agreement.

Manafort pleaded guilty in September to two conspiracy charges in Washington and agreed to cooperate "fully" and "truthfully" with federal prosecutors, including Mueller's team in its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But last week, the special counsel's office said that Manafort had repeatedly lied to prosecutors since agreeing to cooperate, which it says violated his plea deal. Mueller's team did not provide any details on how Manafort may have breached the agreement or what he allegedly lied about.

That information is expected to be made public Friday, when Mueller's team is to submit to Judge Amy Berman Jackson a document detailing Manafort's alleged "crimes and lies," including those it says he committed after he signed his cooperation agreement.

Cohen admitted that his work for the Trump Organization on the proposed Moscow real estate deal ran through at least June 2016, deep into the presidential race.

He also said that he kept Trump and Trump's family regularly informed of his efforts and that he had a 20-minute phone conversation with a Kremlin official to try to enlist the Russian government's help in securing land and financing for the project.

Cohen had lied about all three of those things in his 2017 testimony to Congress, according to court papers. He lied, the filings say, for two reasons: to minimize links between the Moscow project and Trump and to give the "false impression" that the project ended before the Republican primaries began in order to limit the ongoing Russia investigation.

In a court filing last week, Cohen's attorneys requested leniency in sentencing, asking the judge for time served. They say Cohen has taken responsibility for his actions and cooperated fully with the special counsel's office.

He also has voluntarily provided assistance to New York state investigators, Cohen's lawyers say. Cohen met with the New York attorney general's office regarding its suit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation and provided information and interviews to the state's Department of Taxation and Finance.

Cohen has cooperated, his lawyers point out, despite the president's attacks on the special counsel's office, as well as Trump's salvos against Cohen himself.

"In the context of this raw, full-bore attack by the most powerful person in the United States, Michael, formerly a confidante and adviser to Mr. Trump, resolved to cooperate, and voluntarily took the first steps toward doing so," his lawyers write.

Ousted FBI Director James Comey is sworn in during a hearing before the Senate intelligence committee in June 2017. Comey had fought for an open hearing this month before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees.
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Ousted FBI Director James Comey is sworn in during a hearing before the Senate intelligence committee in June 2017. Comey had fought for an open hearing this month before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Former FBI Director James Comey is set to return to Capitol Hill for a transcribed interview behind closed doors with the House Judiciary and Oversight committees on Friday.

For a time, though, it appeared that the interview might not happen.

Comey originally contested a subpoena from the Judiciary Committee's Republican chairman, Bob Goodlatte. The former FBI chief said he would gladly meet for a public hearing, but he did not want to come in for a closed-door interview because of concerns over "selective leaking and distortion."

The interview is likely to be among the last gasps of the panels' Republican-led investigations into decisions made in 2016 by the FBI and the Justice Department. Democrats take control of the House in January, putting them in charge of setting the investigative agenda.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch has also been issued a subpoena to appear.

Papadopoulos to exit federal prison

Not to be outdone, George Papadopoulos, the man whose barroom chatter helped trigger the Russia investigation, wraps up his two-week prison sentence Friday. He has served his time at a medium security federal prison in Oxford, Wis.

Papadopoulos, who worked as a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign. He agreed to cooperate with investigators.